GOD SPEAKS all there is into creation with that first thunderous word: “LIGHT: BE!” And light does. He continues on and on to generate all there is in the universe by His Word. He exerts His will to imagine into existence the macrocosmos and the microcosmos, with infinite attention to detail, and puts it all into motion. And on top of it all is His glorious plan for the crown of His creation: Adam. He is preparing a place for him in this wonderland.
THEN THE LORD GOD FORMED THE MAN FROM THE DUST OF THE GROUND. HE BREATHED THE BREATH OF LIFE INTO THE MAN’S NOSTRILS, AND THE MAN BECAME A LIVING PERSON. ~GENESIS 2:7
God the Creator stops speaking, and He stoops to make this special one, the one who is to be His child, in His image. He breathes into His creation, and stirs him to life. More than just alive, the man is a living soul, made in God’s image, designed to dwell with Him forever in love and joy.
THEN THE LORD GOD PLANTED A GARDEN IN EDEN IN THE EAST, AND THERE HE PLACED THE MAN. . . . TREES THAT WERE BEAUTIFUL AND THAT PRODUCED DELICIOUS FRUIT. ~GENESIS 2:8-9The whole earth is filled with beauty. The man takes it in and sees the colors and shapes, enjoys the textures and smells, eats the fruits, climbs the trees, and learns that God is good. They share life together in unbroken fellowship and unhindered love.
NOW THE MAN AND HIS WIFE WERE BOTH NAKED, BUT THEY FELT NO SHAME. ~GENESIS 2:25Adam and Eve are innocent souls, like a couple of toddlers who are unaware that there was anything to hide. You might say they had a knowledge of good, but they didn't yet have the knowledge of evil.
BUT THE LORD GOD WARNED HIM, "YOU MAY FREELY EAT THE FRUIT OF EVERY TREE IN THE GARDEN—EXCEPT THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL. IF YOU EAT ITS FRUIT, YOU ARE SURE TO DIE."~GENESIS 2:16-17Did you notice that the first words the Lord said were NOT “you must not eat,” but rather, “You are freeto eat from any tree.” God gave them freedom, including the opportunity to fall.
There was just one rule, and it was eating at Adam, just like it does for you and me. We want more than anything to . . . what? . . . know what it's like to take a ride on the wild side? We’re curious, that's all. Satisfy that curiosity, just this one time, and we’ll be back before they notice we were gone.
There’s just something about the human spirit that can’t leave well enough alone, and it just has to know what it was like to do something deathly dangerous, something evil, something to satisfy our sick curiosity. Adam and Eve hadn’t yet seen this thing called evil, and it was eating a hole in their souls.
THE SERPENT WAS THE SHREWDEST . . . ONE DAY HE ASKED THE WOMAN, "DID GOD REALLY SAY, YOU MUST NOT EAT THE FRUIT FROM ANY OF THE TREES IN THE GARDEN?" ~GENESIS 3:1The serpent spoke to the woman. For most of us, it is a so-called friend, who maybe is a bit older than we are. And this so-called friend points out how limiting life is under this protection. It was bound to happen, of course. It has happened for every human who has ever walked this planet. But woe to the one who introduces you to the end of your innocence.
The serpent points out how beautiful and delicious the fruit is. And Eve lingers and stares, entranced by the temptation to experience the freedom of self-will. Instead of fleeing from temptation, she stays. And stares. And imagines. Time for the serpent to confound them with the first instance of straw man logic. He says something like, “If you can’t do one thing, then you can’t do anything, because you can’t do everything. God has no right to tell you that any tree is off limits for you.”
“Uh-huh,” she replies, entranced.
"YOU WON’T DIE! . . . GOD KNOWS THAT YOUR EYES WILL BE OPENED AS SOON AS YOU EAT IT, AND YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD, KNOWING BOTH GOOD AND EVIL."~GENESIS 3:4Time for the next step in the temptation process: Tell them what they want to hear. “Do what you want now. There won’t be consequences.” Pride tells them, “You can beat this.”
It is forbidden, of course. That’s the point. But this, this thing, it looks so pretty, so adventuresome, so . . . so grown-up, that you just can't help but to cross over, just once. Become the master of your own fate, captain your own soul, disobey by doing something stupid and tempting and forbidden. Prove that you are . . . well, . . . like God. Yeah. Your own boss.
SHE SAW THAT THE TREE WAS BEAUTIFUL AND ITS FRUIT LOOKED DELICIOUS, AND SHE WANTED THE WISDOM IT WOULD GIVE HER. SO SHE TOOK SOME OF THE FRUIT AND ATE IT. ~GENESIS 3:6Everything about it feels so right. Delicious and beautiful, and it will indulge you. Do just enough for your curiosity to be satisfied. Then you can at last know good—and evil. No more having to wonder what it’s like to take a ride on the wild side. Satisfy your curiosity—just once—and everything goes back to the way it was before. Right?
Wrong! It can never be the way it was before.
Pride. Self-will. Thinking that my way is better than God’s or my parents’ or anyone else’s. But what starts in curiosity leads to a habit, which grows into addiction and ends in death. Every. Time. Just like God said.
AT THAT MOMENT THEIR EYES WERE OPENED, AND THEY SUDDENLY FELT SHAME AT THEIR NAKEDNESS. SO THEY SEWED FIG LEAVES TOGETHER TO COVER THEMSELVES. ~GENESIS 3:7Of course, after a few moments, or days, or years, of fixating on the forbidden thing, we just can't take it anymore. Eve gives in to the temptation and takes a bite. She hands the fruit over to her husband, and he also eats.
Her husband!? The serpent was talking to Eve, right? and Adam is standing there, not protecting her, just standing there with his hands in his pockets, being a total failure as a husband. The two of them discover immediately what happens. Suddenly, shame happens. They cover. They hide. They start to invent a story or an excuse. Anything to keep you from being the bad guy in your own story.
[THEY] HEARD THE THE LORD GOD WALKING ABOUT IN THE GARDEN. SO THEY HID FROM THE LORD GOD AMONG THE TREES. ~GENESIS 3:8Those very trees that God Himself planted and brought up, which were designed to bring joy and pleasure to the man were now perverted in their use. Now they are used to hide them. Mankind has become wild.
So it is with you and me, isn't it? The very things that once brought innocent pleasure have become perverted, haven’t they? We hide the evidence and rehearse our act of pretending that we didn't do anything wrong, or that we don't feel guilty. They felt the guilt, alright, but it will take a while to admit it, even to themselves.
They had become what later generations would call the worst of all creatures: An Adolescent.
THEN THE LORD GOD CALLED TO THE MAN, "WHERE ARE YOU?"~GENESIS 3:9
Your parents already know what you did, you know. They did the same thing when they were your age, with varying consequences and reactions. And do you think your grandparents--those friendly old people who love you so unconditionally--know that you have done wrong? YES! And certainly God sees through you. They ALL know.
But being a wise and self-controlled parent of this adolescent child, God does not launch into lecture mode. Instead, He asks questions.
God asks those questions, but it’s not because He doesn't know the answers. Rather, He asks because He is waiting for Adam to admit it himself. This is like one of those games of hide and seek you played with them over and over when you were really little. The Lord knew exactly where Adam and Eve were, because they weren't very good at hiding, or at being patient. But He goes throughout the garden saying in a voice that was for Adam, "I wonder where Adam is?”
HE REPLIED, "I HEARD YOU WALKING IN THE GARDEN, SO I HID. I WAS AFRAID BECAUSE I WAS NAKED." ~GENESIS 3:10
Adam incriminates himself with his answer, of course.
"WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE NAKED? . . . HAVE YOU EATEN FROM THE TREE WHOSE FRUIT I COMMANDED YOU NOT TO EAT?" ~GENESIS 3:11The serpent had opened with a question. Now it is God who opens with a question. Daddy wants His child to confess, rather than coming with accusations.
Q: Where are you? A: I'm hiding.
Q: Why hide? A: Because I’m afraid.
Q: Why are you afraid? A: Because I am naked.
Q: Who told you that? A: We figured it out on our own. All of a sudden.
Q: Have you disobeyed? A: It’s not my fault.. You let it happen.
Q: What have you done? A: Don’t blame me. The serpent deceived me.
Q: Did you hear me say that in the day that you do this, you will die?
A: Well, yes, sort of. But he said that You wouldn't carry it out.
Of course, God gets to dealing out the consequences that He had promised. Because He loves us too much to let us rebel and think it's a win.
I WILL SHARPEN THE PAIN OF YOUR PREGNANCY, AND IN PAIN YOU WILL GIVE BIRTH. . . THE GROUND IS CURSED BECAUSE OF YOU. ALL YOUR LIFE YOU WILL STRUGGLE TO SCRATCH A LIVING FROM IT. . . . BY THE SWEAT OF YOUR BROW . . . UNTIL YOU RETURN TO THE GROUND. ~GENESIS 3:16-19And we are now officially on Plan B. It was not supposed to be like this. The fellowship has been broken, the voice disobeyed, trust broken. There is no path forward without severe loss. It was the day of death. The word "death" means "separation." Sure enough, separation from God has already happened. And the soul's separation from the body is on its way, as well. And death still is the era when our greatest enemy claims us all, one by one. This is the day. The era of death.
THE LORD GOD MADE CLOTHING FROM ANIMAL SKINS FOR ADAM AND HIS WIFE. ~GENESIS 3:21Plan B it is. It's not that God was surprised by this. It's not that He had no Plan B in mind. He knew, and He planned for it. But it was a costly plan.
According to the Genesis account, there seems to have been no death at all up to that point in time. But God takes an animal and kills it. The first blood is shed that day, and it is God who does the shedding. He destroys an innocent animal that was never intended to die, in order to cover the shame of the most important creatures ever. Blood is on their hands.
It was not the last time innocent blood would be shed.
And that's how it works. You do the sin. God pays the price. Not a bad deal for us, is it? Plan B. He is the God of plan B, after all. He knew you would fall, and made arrangements ahead of time for fellowship to be restored by this sacrifice of atonement and covering of the innocent for the guilty.
The Lord actually had it in mind from before the foundation of the world. Behold, the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world. He'd rather die than be without you.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
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